Siegfried Kircheis
From Gineipaedia, the Legend of Galactic Heroes wiki
.jpg) Captain Kircheis (796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE)) | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Affiliation: | Galactic Empire |
| Rank: | Fleet admiral (posthumous) |
| Flagship(s): | Barbarossa |
| Status: | Deceased (murder) |
| Born: | 777 UC (468 IC / 3577 CE) |
| Died: | 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE) |
| Played by: | Masashi Hironaka |
Siegfried Kircheis (Japanese: ジークフリード・キルヒアイス) was an Imperial high admiral, and the best friend and confidant of Reinhard von Lohengramm since childhood. Often referred to as Reinhard's "shadow," Lohengramm viewed Kircheis as a part of himself.
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Childhood
Siegfried Kircheis was an only child of middle class parents and lived in a quiet neighborhood when the von Müsel family moved in next door. Kircheis immediately befriended the young Reinhard von Müsel and his sister Annerose von Müsel.
Early career
...
Invasion of the Alliance
...
Imperial Civil War
During the Imperial Civil war, Reinhard von Lohengramm sent Kircheis to the Empire's frontier worlds to quell the various small uprisings and revolts that were occuring thanks to the collapse of Goldenbaum authority. ....
Death
Shortly after finishing his duties in the frontier, Kircheis became aware of certain rumours surrounding Reinhard's possible involvement in the Westerland Massacre, and traveled to Geiersburg Fortress to meet with his newly victorious superior and friend. After confronting Reinhard he learned that Reinhard was indeed using the massacre as a political tool, even though he had only indirectly allowed it to happen because of misleading intelligence supplied by Oberstein. After a somewhat heated exchange in which Kircheis insisted that calculting and sacrificing lives for the greater good was never acceptable, Reinhard asserted his authority over him, which resulted in Kercheis leaving the issue alone for the time being, thinking that because Reinhard was still the intelligent good hearted person he originally befriended, he would eventually understand his point of view. Unfortunately for Siegfried, he would not live to see tis revelation occur in Reinhard.
Reinhard's chief admirals were all in attendance when the former officers of the Lippstadt Alliance came before Reinhard. Immediately after Vice Admiral Adalbert von Fahrenheit was pardoned and permitted to join the ranks of Reinhard's admirals, Commodore Ansbach, the chief retainer of the recently deceased Prince Otho von Braunschweig, approached Reinhard with Braunschweig's body, seemingly to present it as a gift. Upon stopping in front of Reinhard, Ansbach pulled out a rocket launcher he had hidden in a cavity in the body's chest and swore to kill Reinhard. Oberstein jumped in front of Reinhard to block the rocket with his own body, however, this was not what saved Reinhard. Just as the rocket fired, Kircheis had lunged at Ansbach, knocking him off his aim just enough to narrowly miss both Reinhard and Oberstein. Upon the rocket missing its target, Ansbach brandished a particle beam firing ring and shot Kircheis once through the chest. Kircheis, unphased by the first shot continued to wrestle Ansbach to the ground. From his back Ansbach fired once more, striking Kircheis in the neck, mortally wounding him. Even so, Kircheis's grip was so strong on Ansbach's ring bearing forearm that as the other admirals wrenched Ansbach away Kircheis broke Ansbach's arm. As Admiral Oskar von Reuenthal restrained Ansbach, Admiral Wolfgang Mittermeyer attempted to aid High Admiral Kircheis. After Ansbach expresses how killing Kircheis was still an agreeable result, he chews a cyanide capsule and dies. Reinhard descends to talk with Kirchies, expressing how he still hopes that Kircheis can survive even though it is obvious he will not. Kircheis has Reinhard make him one last promise, to conquer the universe, before Siegfried Kircheis dies from his wounds sending Reinhard into a deep depression.
Siegfried Kircheis was pstumasly promoted to Imperial Fleet Admiral, and was buried on Odin, with the words "Mein Freund" inscribed upon his tombstone. Although he died fairly early in the history around the transition from the old to new empires, he was still mentioned and admired by many of those that remained criticle players in the future. This was especially true in the cases of Reuenthal, Mittermeyer, and Hildegard von Mariendorf who all often reflected on how much easier a situation would have been if Kircheis were still alive and around to consult Reinhard, who himself was also constantly thinking of Kircheis and what he would have done with regards to the problems they were now facing.
Appendices
Appearances
- My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars (first appearance)
- LOGH:
(19)
- 'In the Eternal Night'
- 'The Battle of Astarte'
- 'Empire's Afterglow'
- 'The Castrop Rebellion'
- 'The Rosen Ritter'
- 'Cool, Clear Artificial Eyes'
- 'The Klopstock Incident'
- 'The Actress Exits'
- 'When the Rain of Grief Comes...'
- 'The Battle of Amritsar Starzone'
- 'New Trends'
- 'Before the Storm'
- 'The Lippstadt Conspiracy'
- 'The Yang Fleet Goes Out'
- 'The Battle of Doria Starzone, And...'
- 'The Fall of Goldenbaum'
- 'The Day Before Destiny'
- 'Farewell, Distant Memories' (death)
- 'The Cold Spell Arrives' (memory)
- Golden Wings
- Overture to a New War
- SWV:
(4)
- 'Chapter I'
- 'Chapter II'
- 'Chapter III'
- 'Chapter IV'
Name variations
- Siegfried Kircheis (LD/DVD subtitles)
- ジークフリード・キルヒアイス (LD/DVD subtitles — Japanese)
Background information
The name Siegfried stems from the main character of the Völsunga saga (as Sigurd) and the Nibelungenlied, in which the dragon-slayer Siegfried becomes invulnerable by bathing in the slain dragon's blood save a small spot on a shoulder, which was covered by a linden leaf. Due to his involvement in the workings of the nobility of Worms he has compromising and dangerous knowledge and is eventually decided to be killed. This happens during a hunt, when Hagen, the sinister antihero invites him to a quick run to a river, but purposely loses to pick up a spear and mortally wound Siegfried where the linden-leaf covered his body. His death marks the beginning of the downfall and destruction of the Worms noble family, mirrored by the fall of the Lippstadt Alliance and the declining health of Reinhard.
The Kircheis family is an industrial family, mainly based in the middle of Germany, mirroring Kircheis' own social background.[clean-up needed]
Interestingly, Richard Wagner's symphonic poem Siegfried Idyll is often played whenever Kircheis appears on screen in the main OVA series, whether in person or in flashbacks, thus serving as a kind of leitmotif for him.
Trivia
Kircheis appeared to have his left carotid artery hit by Ansbach. The brightness of the blood argues against it being the jugular veins because those would bleed out dark venous blood. If the carotid were hit, Kircheis should have lost blood and consciousness very rapidly, before he could have finished his last words with Reinhard.
Apocrypha
Stage
Kircheis is played by Hiromi Sakimoto in the 2011 stage adaptation of LOGH.
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